1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to security systems, and more particularly, to breach detector systems for transportation containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the closest references corresponds to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0015400 published on Jan. 15, 2009 to Breed for a shipping container monitoring based on door status. However, it differs from the present invention because Breed teaches a remotely monitorable shipping container assembly including a shipping container including at least one door, a door status sensor for monitoring the open or closed status of the door(s) and a communications device mounted on the container and wirelessly transmitting information to one or more remote facilities including the status of the door(s) as monitored by the door status sensor. The remote facility may be for example, a facility interested in ensuring the integrity of the contents of the container, a facility which is charged with preventing theft of the contents of the containers, a law enforcement facility which is responsible for preventing transport of illegal cargo, and the like. A positioning system may be arranged on the container for determining a position thereof. The communications device is coupled to the positioning system and transmits the determined position of the container with the open or closed status of the door(s).
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,404 issued on Apr. 10, 2012 to Diener, et al. for a method and apparatus for detecting movement of a shipping container latch; U.S. Pat. No. 8,138,917 issued on Mar. 20, 2012 to Diener, et al. for a latch monitoring apparatus for a shipping container door; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,111,157 issued on Feb. 7, 2012 to Diener, et al.; all of them for an apparatus for detecting tampering with a latch mechanism. However, they differ from the present invention because Diener, et al. teaches a system, method, and apparatus for monitoring and detecting movement of components of a shipping container latch. A latch monitor may embody an electromagnetic sensing unit and a nearby magnet or light emitter for measuring and characterizing the profile of a nearby electromagnetic field. The field profile is monitored to detect a change in the profile, log the change, and report any abnormal disturbance to the electromagnetic field, indicating a breach of the integrity of a latching mechanism on a shipping container. An alert of a breach event may be sent via a communication network to an authority for response. The invention can distinguish authorized, incidental, and tampering events, and also store and upload an electronic manifest for a shipping container.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,026,792 issued to Powers, et al. on Sep. 27, 2011 for a Global asset tracking enterprise system. However, it differs from the present invention because Powers teaches a system for operating a container lock mechanism that includes a housing, at least two lock members, the two lock members including a first lock member configured to engage a first portion of a container and a second lock member configured to engage a second portion of the container to mount the container lock mechanism outside of the container and lock at least one container door in a closed position. The system further includes a latching mechanism coupled to the first and second lock members, and a lock circuit at least partially enclosed within the housing. The lock circuit includes a first memory, a wireless module configured to receive a wireless signal and a lock controller coupled to the first memory, the wireless module and the latching mechanism and configured to receive commands related to operation of the lock mechanism, at least a portion of the commands being part of the wireless signal, to cause the latching mechanism to resist having the first and second lock members be disengaged from the first and second portions of the container when the first and second lock members are engaged to the first and second portions of the container, thereby locking the at least one container door in response to the received commands, and a battery coupled to the lock circuit and configured to provide electrical power to at least a portion of the lock circuit.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,022,573 issued to Powers, et al. on Sep. 20, 2011 for a shipping container active lock release failsafe. However, it differs from the present invention because Powers teaches a lock mechanism to lock at least one door of a container in a closed position that includes a housing enclosing at least a portion of the lock mechanism, and a lock circuit at least partially enclosed within the housing. The lock circuit includes a main power supply, a backup power supply, a plurality of subsystems, and a lock controller coupled to the main power supply and the backup power supply. The lock controller is configured to receive commands related to operation of the lock mechanism, determine a battery level remaining in the main power supply, determine if the remaining battery level is below a threshold level, and cause the lock circuit to enter a lower power mode upon determining that the remaining battery level is below the threshold level. When in the lower power mode, at least a portion of the subsystems of the lock circuit are not powered, the lock controller receives power from the main power supply, and the lock controller monitors an interface to detect a command to unlock the lock mechanism.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0006895 published on Jan. 13, 2011 to Nelson for an expendable tamper evident security seal. However, it differs from the present invention because Nelson teaches an expendable tamper evident seal system for monitoring a mechanism to which physical access is required in order to open or close an access-way, comprising: an embedding material moldable into a shape conforming to the mechanism and adapted to be applied to the mechanism; circuit components randomly embedded in the embedding material so as to be arranged in positions and orientations corresponding to the shape, whereby physical access to the mechanism that alters the shape of the embedding material correspondingly alters the positions and orientations of the circuit components in the material; and an electronic interrogation device (EID) including components that induce in the circuit components an electromagnetic spectral response indicative of the position of the EID relative to the positions and orientations of the circuit components in the material, and measure the spectral response.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0117802 published on May 13, 2010 to Easley, et al. for a system and method for providing communications for container security. However, it differs from the present invention because Easley, et al. teaches a system for providing communications for container security. The system includes a sensing system for monitoring the contents of the container; a signal receiving element for receiving sensor data from the sensing system; a control element for analyzing received sensor data; a first transceiver element for receiving signals containing sensor data from within the container and for transmitting those signals outside of the container; and a satellite transceiver element for receiving signals from the first transceiver element and for forwarding the received signals via satellite uplink to a remote location.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0047350 published on Feb. 28, 2008 to Atlas, et al. for the use of ultrasound for monitoring security of shipping containers. However, it differs from the present invention because Atlas, et al. teaches ultrasound signals transmitted from one or more ultrasonic transducers configured to be mounted within an interior of a shipping container that travel through the interior and are reflected by a reflector, e.g., a corner reflector. The reflected ultrasound is received by an ultrasonic receiver, which produces an output signal corresponding to the received ultrasound signal. If the ultrasonic transducer or the reflector is mounted on the door, the time of flight of the ultrasound signal can be used to determine the distance that the ultrasound signal travels. Opening the door changes this distance, which can be detected. Similarly, changes in ultrasound reflected from contents in the shipping container can be detected and used to detect changes in the contents, which may be caused by terrorist activity.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,019,683 issued to Stevens, et al. on Mar. 28, 2006, previously published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0195101 on Sep. 8, 2005, for a shipping container security system. However, it differs from the present invention because Stevens teaches a security system that senses intrusions into a shipping container through the opening of doors, cutting an opening, or removing the doors from their hinges. Intrusion information is transmitted to a remote receiver without interrogation, thereby reducing power consumption. Sensing is accomplished by employing a range-gated micro-impulse radar (“RGR”) that generates microwave pulses that bounce around the interior of the container. The RGR includes a range gate that enables measuring reflected signals during the time gate period that is set for the time it takes a pulse to propagate a maximum distance within the container and reflect back. A direct current signal level is produced that represents the average reflected signal level within the container, and a Doppler shift measurement is made that represents motion inside the container. The signals are conveyed to the transmitter for conveyance to the remote receiver.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,159,338 issued to Breed on Apr. 17, 2012 for an asset monitoring arrangement and method. However, it differs from the present invention because Breed teaches an arrangement and method for monitoring an asset that includes a location determining system and a self-powered interior sensor and communication system which data about contents in the interior of the asset and transmits the data and the location of the asset. It includes a transmitter and receiver for communicating directly with a wireless ISP such that the data about the contents and the location of the asset are available to a user having access to the Internet and a user having access to the Internet can direct communications to the interior sensor and communications system. A triggering device is coupled to the interior sensor and communication system and arranged to detect an event, which might cause a change in the contents or condition of the asset. The triggering device directs the interior sensor and communication system to obtain data about the contents when such an event is detected.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,115,620 issued to Breed on Feb. 14, 2012 for an asset monitoring using micropower impulse radar. However, it differs from the present invention because Breed teaches a arrangement and method for monitoring inanimate objects in an interior thereof includes a sensor system arranged to obtain data about the object by applying micropower impulse radar (MIR) transmissions into the interior of the asset, i.e., container volume monitoring using MIR, a location determining system arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset, and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the sensor system and the location determining system. The communication system transmits the data about each object obtained by the sensor system and the location of the asset provided by the location determining system to one or more remote facilities, these remote facilities being those interested in the information about the objects in the asset being monitored.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,961,094 issued to Breed on Jun. 14, 2011 for a perimeter monitoring techniques. However, it differs from the present invention because Breed teaches a method for monitoring borders or peripheries of installations includes arranging sensors periodically along the border at least partially in the ground, the sensors being sensitive to vibrations, infrared radiation, sound or other disturbances, programming the sensors to wake-up upon detection of a predetermined condition and receive a signal, analyzing the signal and transmitting a signal indicative of the analysis with an identification or location of the sensors. The sensors may include a processor embodying a pattern recognition system trained to recognize characteristic signals indicating the passing of a person or vehicle.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,991,357 issued to Meyers, et al. on Aug. 2, 2011, and previously published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0044207 for an intelligent sensor open architecture for a container security system. U.S. Pat. No. 7,991,357 claims priority of U.S. Pat. No. 7,853,210. However, it differs from the present invention because Meyers, et al. teaches a system and method for interfacing with sensors using an open architecture and standards based approach. A sensor controller located on each container and any variety of one or more sensors are equipped with complementary short-range wireless communications devices. The sensor may adhere to a predefined interface specification such that it may be automatically commissioned into, and operation in conjunction with the sensor controller and the container security system.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,346 issued to Terry, et al. on Nov. 9, 2010 for securing shipping container for transport. However, it differs from the present invention because Terry, et al. teaches a method for securing a shipping container for transport, and includes the steps of: providing a shipping container having a bolt-type seal lock module, a sensor module mounted to an interior surface of the shipping container configured to wirelessly communicate data to the bolt-type seal lock module, and an RF device mounted on an inside surface of a door of the shipping container; providing a bolt; associating the sensor module with the RF device such that the RF device is specifically coded with a sensor module to deter spoofing the short-range communication link formed between the RF device and the sensor module; associating the sensor module with the bolt-type seal lock such that the bolt-type seal lock is specifically coded with the sensor module to deter spoofing communications between the bolt-type seal lock and the sensor module; and sealing the shipping container.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,825,803 issued on Nov. 2, 2010, which claims priority of U.S. Pat. No. 7,135,976 issued on Nov. 14, 2006, and previously published as U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0085677 & 2004/0233054, respectively, both issued to Neff, et al., for a wireless monitoring device. However, they differ from the present invention because Neff, et al. teaches a system including a method for monitoring changes in the status or condition of a container using one or more monitoring units mounted to the container. The monitoring units preferably include a power supply, sensors using reflective energy with programmable parameters, globally-unique sensor identification, recording capability on a timeline, long term memory and the ability to rebroadcast information on RFID radio technology. Programmable monitoring hardware in the monitoring unit detects significant changes in the sensor outputs as a triggering event. The programmable monitoring hardware includes memory for storing identification information for the container. The sensors which can include conventional devices that detect various forms of energy including visible light, infrared light, magnetic fields, radio frequency energy and sound. In one embodiment, a monitoring unit is mounted inside a shipping container suitable for long distance transport. The triggering event can be used for tamper detection security.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,469 issued to Braun on Mar. 4, 2008, previously published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0109106, for a shipping container monitoring and tracking system. However, it differs from the present invention because Braun teaches a system for monitoring a container for transporting cargo. The system includes an onboard device attached to the container and a central computer system. The central computer system processes alerts transmitted by the onboard device. The onboard device includes a processor/sensor component and an antenna component. The processor/sensor component comprises a processor for controlling the device. The processor/sensor component also includes one or more sensor in communication with the processor for sensing container conditions. A satellite modem in the processor/sensor component transmits alerts relating to container conditions and other satellite communications. The antenna component includes a satellite antenna, which is connected to the satellite modem.
Another reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,197 issued to Denekamp, et al. on Jun. 7, 1988 for an integrated cargo security system. However, it differs from the present invention because Denekamp teaches an integrated cargo transportation security system provided for a fleet of enclosed cargo transportation containers. Each container includes a subsystem including a door sensor for sensing access door opening and closure, a module unit including a connecting frame for a removable module and cabling leading to the door sensor. The identically appearing removable modules are configurable as active and passive. Each locks into the unit. The system includes a central data collection and processing facility for processing cargo trip data collected by at least one active module during a cargo trip of the container into a roadmap indicating travel route of the container during the trip and the time and location of significant event such as unauthorized opening of the cargo door. The module unit having an active module includes a self contained power supply, a location detector for detecting present location of said container, a clock, a central processor for generating a sequence of status numbers indicative of accumulated location, time and door status, and a memory for storing the sequence during the trip. The system further includes means for transferring the status number sequence to the central data collection and processing facility. A radio link may be provided to connect the container module to the central data facility in real time, and may be operated by authorized personnel at the container to signal predetermined conditions to the central facility.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.